Final: Class LL, Norwich Free Academy 30, Hall 14

November 30, 2010|By REID WALMARK, The Hartford Courant

NORWICH ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â— — The Hall season of promise, which culminated in the Warriors' first CIAC playoff berth since 1986, fizzled out Tuesday night with a 30-14 Class LL quarterfinal loss at Norwich Free Academy, Hall's third consecutive defeat following a eight consecutive wins to open the season..

The No. 2 Wildcats (11-0), who will play third-seeded Trumbull in a semifinal on Saturday, opened a 20-0 lead with 2:10 left in the first half, then had to withstand a Hall rally that cut the deficit to 20-14 in the first minute of the second half.

Two possessions after Hall cut the deficit to six, the seventh-seeded Warriors (8-3) advanced to the NFA 37-yard line, but gave up the ball on downs after incomplete passes on third and fourth down. That drive began after the Hall defense stopped the Wildcats, responding to the Warriors' second touchdown, at the Hall 12.. Once Hall stalled at the NFA 37, the Wildcats got a 22-yard field goal from Ryer Caruso in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

"That gave them another life," Hall coach Frank Robinson said of his switch to a no-huddle offense that fueled the comeback. "We knew we could get back in it. The kids responded. The no-huddle changed the tempo. We thought that could help us and it did."

The Warriors' pace in that offense wasn't NFA's biggest obstacle in trying to contain them, NFA coach Jamal Davis said. It was the spread formation, with five Hall linemen blocking three NFA defensive linemen, which gave Warriors quarterback Riley Carroll plenty of time and the option to run the ball. "He [Carroll] made good decisions," Davis said.

Carroll completed 15 of 36 passes for 200 yards with one interception. Hall moved 65 yards in less than two minutes for its first touchdown after NFA took a 20-0 lead. The key play was a pass interference call on NFA that prevented Ian Dugger from making a reception at the NFA 6. Carroll scored on a 6-yard run with 14 seconds left in the half.

Hall took the opening kickoff of the second half and moved 66 yards in four plays for a touchdown. Carroll completed an 11-yard pass to Justin Cleaver and a 54-yarder to Joe Denault, in which Caruso caught Denault at the 1-yard line. Justin Sundstrum scored on the next play.

"We just made a couple of mistakes at the wrong times," Robinson said, referring to several dropped passes and untimely penalties. "If we had made some catches, we could have scored on that drive after it was 20-14. We would have had the momentum."